Hopper



Patented Feb. 17, 1931 A 1,7e2 ,865.f

wsteeerenesnrew ee mmnew wei H nes Application fild February 15, 192 9. g Serial No; 340,115

This invention relates to hoppers and part i larlyi t t lnie s t fee i e a sl e f ni o s z an hap f fur pt 12 1011,

he My i tion c nt mp a met o:

t vision of extremely simple neansfor feeding slugs or blanks in succession, in which means the usual agitatonshave been entirely-eliminat dy The various objects of my invention Vvvill vi9 be clear from the description Which follows n tmm t ed ewi n h h E 1g. 1 isafront v ew of an ach ne, such as pre ets ch m imprqt slieed eans hasbe'e'n applied.

I Fig. 2 is a vertical section of part of'tl e hopper and of partofthe feed tnbe or chute proved device. M

Fig, 3 is il-jliOIlt view of another form of which on's i utb e meio' Pa t Q 'my mmy improvedife eding meansada ted for use with light slugs which may not e properly fed by gravity alone. v

Bi -e i evert al se t n o a Pa t h e showing the auxiliary. feeding. means.

Fig. 5 isa horizontal sectionv ofthe same,

taken on the line of Fi 4:.

F -i 5 is ehe zen e Sectio f. th fe in tube shown in igJl, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view ,ofone of the F slugs or blanks adapted tobe fed proved device. In that pra ti al embe im n at my inventio h Q .ljhav e shown herein b was 1?? eudlesi for in tance, a Press l ed'f lr tr ing soft rnetal Slugs into fbr colla p sible tab es, "I provide a hopper 'aslO' and a teed tube as'1 1,'vvliich""ar relatively rebipro cated By so relatively reliving; the hgippefand the eed tube or'chute, the" sliigs in the ta ,.i1 v any .i yitab e mag et t llu tlratdi byjtliie attach nentthereof vto the cross head. 12 of an extruding press, as by means of the bolts 13. 1 The cross head is reciprocated in the usual manner by suitable mechanish'i well-known in the art, and I 'haye shotyn for 55 this purpose, the crank lt nount ed on the shaft 15, which is rotated by suitable Welllgnovm mechanism which need not be shown, said crank 14. being pivotally connected to the upper end of the cross head '12. '7 60 For allowing slugs tobe dii nped in quant t e quick y e d ea y' n o ha oi p r the upperend the'reofis left entirely open. The bottom? 16," however, of the hopper, is preferably inclined doivmvardlyand termihates in a suitable bearing inember asll' l', having an opening therein into which the lip perend the tube ll is inserted, so that when the hoppeifis reciprocated, it slides overthe relatively stationaryteedtube 11. i '5 Said tube may take various forms as shown in Figs, 1 12', 5 and 6. ,In the form shown in Figs. land 2, for example, thevfe ed tlibe may be in the form of a cylindrical pipe having a slot as 18therein, through which the slugs l9, p iled in the inside of the tube, are visible, an th h whic s t 2 tab t o y b nsert d t S a hte ou e lu llsu d any ssum he Wrong pQs t on o oth r e beq jamme in h in de F t t ub SQ Tl.l.1H1PP I-Bn 20 9 h e ds b' is pref? erably heyelled as at 21 to terminateaconili e-rat ely s ar11edg e -22 Whil fl has is shown in Fig. 2 as extending from the: iner surface of the tribe: toward theflut lf 1 face, it vvill behnderstood that the bevel may be. eve s d t n be inclin d from the outer face of the tribe toward the inner 319 i hein m ntenti t .redilc the h sknes of the tube a i s upper s id he a minim- 11. s as. s p i y d flesli l e e at hat point, a p ssihlefee Je t w ich he lu z t e heppe myfi Pi-nge nd-b diverted Without entering, the interior of} the ieedambei k it i The lower end of said tube niayibe c l ved 3 th PE Ilne fslii "at a .t'

e mt QB -Ql seeat 23 may be provided for removing one slug at a time from the bottom of the pile and feeding the slug to the dies for operating thereon.

Referring now to Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive, I have there shown a feed tube 24 in which the interior opening or chamber is made substantially rectangular in cross-section for the purpose of feeding the tubes in a row with the cylindrical edges thereof in contact instead of in a pile with the flat surfaces 46 thereof in contact. tion, however, is precisely the same in both cases. As shown in Fig.5, the passage 25 of the tube 24 is made of the proper shape to receive a slug 45 only with the faces 46 thereof in a substantially vertical position, so that the adjacent slugs 45 in the row are arranged in the tube with their cylindrical surfaces 26 in contact.

I have also shown means for insuring the movement of the slugs through the passage 25, which is particularly useful where the slugs are too light in weight to be fed with certainty by gravity alone. Said means comprises a serrated friction member 30 held to the cam plate 32 as by means of the pins 31 secured at one end to said member and having their other ends inserted into suitable holes in said plate for providing a yielding connect-ion between the plate and the member. Said plate is slotted by the cam slots 33, whereby reciprocation of the plate gives both a longitudinal and a lateral movement to member 30, toward and from the row of slugs.

The plate 32 is slida-bly supported in the extension 34 of the stationary feed pipe 24, and is guided in its movement by the pins 35 passing through the slots 33. A spring as 36 connected to the stationary lug 37 at one end, and to the lower end of the plate 32 at its other end, serves to return the plate 32 to its uppermost position after it has been pushed down by the lug 38 projecting from the hopper 10 on the descent of said hopper and the later ascent thereof to release the plate. A suitable spring as 39 secured to the plate 32 as at 40 and engaging the member 30 serves to take up any undue pressure which the plate 32 might exert on the member 30, and to provide a yielding connection therebetween.

Ashas been pointed out hereinbefore, the

feed pipe 24 may be curved at its lower end 41 to lead to a suitable feed mechanism 23, in eluding a feed cylinder 42 into which the slugs may be properly piled as by the reciproeatory spring plunger 43. V

The operation of my improved mechanism is as follows:

As applied to the press illustrated, the crank shaft 15 being rotated and thereby reciprocating the cross head l2 through the intermediary of the cranlr'14, the hopper 10 is The principle of operareciproeated up and down on the end of the stationary feed tube 11. A quantity of slugs having previously been supplied to the hopper, the slugs automatically fall into the end of the tube and are fed therethrough by gravity, or by gravity with the aid of the auxiliary feeding mechanism, to the point where they are to be extruded.

The length of the reciprocatory stroke of the hopper is preferably such that in the upper-most position of the hopper, the edge 22 of the feed tube is a considerable distance below the top of the opening in the bearing 17 of the bottom of the hopper. This allows the slugs which have previously been thrown by the tube over on to the inclined face of the bottom 16, to slide down toward the bearing opening and into the tube. The edge 22 being relatively sharp, offers little or no obstruction to the slugs as they tend to enter the top of the feed tube.

On the downward reciprocatory stroke of the hopper, the tube passes completely through the bearing 17 and into the interior of the hopper to any extent which may be found desirable. As thetube enters the hopper, the slugs which have accumulated about the upper end of the hole in the bearing without falling into said hole are pushed aside by the tube, as are the slugs which have accumulated near the rear face of the hopper. These slugs are pushed upwardly and toward the upper end of the inclined bottom 16 which leads the slugs into the tube in the manner hereinbefore described, the inclined end of the tube aiding the agitating and feeding operation.

By reason of the relative reciprocation of the hopper and the tube, none of the agitating devices normally employed to prevent accumulation of slugs or blanks at an inacces sible point, become necessary, dependence being had entirely upon the minimum agitation of the slugs by the tube on the movement of the hopper to feed the slugs.

In the form illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the passage 25 of the tube 24 is so designed that the slugs must enter the tube in the positi ons shown in Fig. 4. Since this form of my improved device is adapted to feed slugs or blanks made of light weight material such as aluminum, the auxiliary forwarding means illustrated is preferably employed.

On the downward movement of the hopper 10, the lug 38 strikes the upper end of the cam plate 32, moving said cam plate downwardly inthe support 34 and at the same time. inwardly, due to the engagement of the pin 35 with the edges of the slot 33. The serrated member 30 is carried down with the plate 32 and also given an inward movement toward the slugs or blanks 45, causing said member to engage the blanks and when the pin 35 reaches thestraight part of the slot 33, it

causes said member to carry or push the h slugs downwardly in the passage25.

On the upward movement of the hopper Z 10, the plate'32 is released, allowing thespring 36 to reverse the movement and allowlng the discriminately supplied in quantites, that the blanks or "slugs are agitated to a minimum extent by my improved mechamsm, thereby preventing the coating OfStIlClblElnkS wlth "3 grease or metallic dust particles, and that my improved mechanism is well adapted for the purposes for which it is intended.

I do not wish tobe understood as limiting myself in any way to the precisemechanism shown and described but intend to clalm my invention as broadly as may be permitted by the state of the'prior art and the terms of the appended claims.

I claim 1. In an automatic feeding mechanism for disc blanks, an open end hopper, a feed tube inserted thereinto, and having a longitudinal slot therein for exposing part of the blanks to view, means for reciprocating the hopper on the upper end of the tube, and means carried by the tube for advancingthe blanks in the tube, including a spring pulled slide mov able longitudinally of the tube.

2. In an automatic feeding mechanism, a reciprocatory hopper and a stationary feed tube over which the hopper is longitudinally movable, and means operated by the hopper for advancing blanks in the tube.

3. In an automatic feeding mechanism, a

:' hopper, a tube having a longitudinal slot the hopper in succession to extruding POST? tion in the press, and means for relatively reciprocating the tube and the hopper to cause the tube to enter and leave the interior of the hopper alternately.

5. The combination with an extruding press having a reciprocating cross-head, of a feed tube terminating at its upper end in a relatively sharp edge, and a hopper carried r r c 0 a mbil a i .n

w th the 'e i i l' cat i'y cross-head of an extruding press, of a hopper er ii hy the Cress-head and af e tu e m-1 Semedim" 1 19 h pper .eml efsaid mbelm'rminating in ely hernedee inclined than Oblique an e to he axis of the tube. V

In a wee ing pr s oil h l il ets described, across-head, a feeding device com pri i la tat on y o d fe d-tube m rese iea l te n ip at on thesenatingil zal edge inclined at an oblique angle to the .axis of the-tube, and a reciprocatory .hopper mounted on the upper end of the tube and carried by the cross-head and provided with an otherwise closed bottom having an opening therein for the reception of said tube. 8. In an extruding press of the character described, a-reciprocatory cross-head, a stationary slotted feed tube, a hopper mounted on the end of said tube for reciprocation thereon and carried by the cross-head, means i for reciprocating said cross-head, and a bottom on said hopper having an opening therein for the passage of said tube.

9. In a feeding device of the characterdescribed, a stationary feed tube having a straight portion for continuously delivering blanks in an aligned row to a predetermined point,a hopper into the lower end of which 10. In a'feeding device for feeding solid disc blanks, a feed tube, a relatively reciprocatory hopper, and reciprocatory means carried by the tube for engaging the outer cylindrical edges of the blanks and for advancing the blanks within the tube- 11. The combination of a tube for feeding blanks, a yieldable member for engaging the outermost surface of, and advancing, blanks within the tube, and means for moving said member radially inwardly of thetube and downwardly to feed blanks, and in the reverse direction alternately. j

12. The combination of a tube for feeding solid disc blanks, and a yieldable reciprocatory member for engaging the cylindrical edges of theblanks and advancing the blanks within the tube, a movable hopper into which the tube is inserted, and means for operatively connecting the member with the hopper.

13. Ina feeding mechanism of the character described, a hopper, a feed tube inserted thereinto, means for relatively reciprocating the tube and the hopper, a spring-pulled cam plate carried by the tube, and a blankengaging member carried by the plate and yieldable relatively thereto and adapted to be projected through an opening in the tube into engagement with the blanks in the tube, said plate and member being reciprocated longitudinally and laterally on the relative movement of the hopper and the tube.

14. In a feeding mechanism of the character described, a hopper, a slotted feed tube having its upper end at an oblique angle to the axis of the tube and inserted into the hopper, means for relatively reciprocating the hopper and the tube, comprising a reciprocating cross-head carrying the hopper, and means operated by the hopper for engaging and advancing the blanks in the tube.

VALTER PRUSSING. 

